Tourism (EN)

Gaymat? CSD? Pride? What exactly is the Gaymat?

Basically, the Gaymat is a Pride event, a weeklong LGBT-festival. While other cities have chosen to name comparable events CSD (Christopher Street Day) or Pride Week, in the year 1998 the organizers in Luxembourg decided to name their event „Gay Mat“. As the first word is pronounced in English and the second one in Luxembourgish, it says „Géi mat“, which translates to „Come along“. What started as a small street party in the afternoon, became a weeklong festival. During this week, there will be an exhibition, movie nights, discussion panels and several parties. The highlight of the week is still the „Gaymat“ itself, the street party which will take place the second Saturday in July at the City Hall square in Esch-sur-Alzette. In 2013 the program was extended and has included a parade ever since, named „Marche de l’égalité“, the „Equal March“.

Is Luxembourg safe for LGBT-people?

Luxembourg is safe! The Grand-Duchy prosecutes crimes based on ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation etc. After the coming in affect of the reform of the marriage law, which is now open for all, you can assume that LGBT-people are largely accepted in public. Same-sex couples holding hands in public don’t need to be afraid of hostilities any more than in other European capitals.

Where can I stay during the Gaymat-week or the weekends?

There are several hotels in Esch-sur-Alzette. We will be collaborating with some of them for the festival. When you get your Gaymat-festival ribbon*, you will get a reduction with our partners. You will find our partners on the website: www.gaymat.lu/Partner

Can I travel by train to the Gaymat?

Yes! There is a train station in Esch-sur-Alzette. If you’re coming from abroad, you’ll first have to travel to the main station in Luxembourg-City and then change over to a train for Esch-sur-Alzette. Trains between Luxembourg-City and Esch usually operate in intervals of 15 minutes.

Careful though, if you’re coming to the Queesch-party: the last train back to Luxembourg-City leaves at 1.17am on Saturdays!*

* As an alternative to the train, we will again offer a shuttle bus service from the Closing Party to Luxembourg-City via Esch-Belval

Can I come by bus?

Sure, that’s no problem! In the southern part of Luxembourg, the region called Minett, the public transport service is offered by TICE. The city Esch is furthermore connected to various national bus networks. You will also find these schedules on www.mobiliteit.lu (for trains and busses).

Getting home from the Queesch: Gaymat Closing Party : as the public transport won’t be operating all-night, we will offer a shuttle bus service from the Closing Party to Luxembourg-City via Esch-Belval.

And if I want to come by car?

That is also possible!

Gaymat itself: The city of Esch has a parking guidance system which will lead you to car parks. We would recommend the following, as they are pretty close to the events:

Parking Hôtel de ville, pay parking (the car park is right under the City Hall square where the Gaymat-street party takes place);

Parking Place de la Résistance, pay parking (the Equal March will start here. The car park is in walking distance of approx. 700m from the City Hall square).

Will there be free WiFi-access in Esch?

You will be able to use the free WiFi-network „Hotcity“ in most parts of both Esch and Luxembourg-City!

Entry regulations, currency and languages in Luxembourg?

The Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg is a small country right in the middle of the EU. It’s situated next to Germany, France and Belgium and is part of the Schengen-area. The entry regulations are the same as for other EU-countries.

The local currency is the Euro.

The official languages are Luxembourgish, German and French. The language most used in shops, restaurants and bars is French. In the service and trade sectors, people usually also speak English and partly German.

You will find a great part of the Luxembourgers to be fluent in Luxembourgish, German, French and English!